James Cromwell
James Cromwell (born in Los Angeles, California) is a highly respected actor and a veteran Star Trek performer. While he has made several appearances on three of the Star Trek series, he is best known to Trek fans for his portrayal of Zefram Cochrane in the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact. He would go on to make an uncredited cameo as Cochrane in "Broken Bow", the pilot episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. Cromwell had earlier made guest appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. But Cromwell has become a highly recognizable figure outside of Star Trek, as well. He earned an Oscar nomination for his performance as Farmer Hoggett in the 1995 family film ''Babe'', a role which he reprised in the 1998 sequel, ''Babe: Pig in the City''. He also acquired praise for playing a crooked police captain in the highly-acclaimed 1997 neo-noir thriller L.A. Confidential. Also starring in that film was one-time TNG guest actor Matt McCoy, whom Cromwell had worked with twice before in two television projects and would work with him again on the short-lived TV series Citizen Baines in 2001. Also appearing in the L.A. Confidential were Bob Clendenin, Steve Rankin, Symba Smith, Brenda Bakke, John Mahon and Colin Mitchell as well as stuntmen Steven Lambert, Jim Metzler, Don Pulford and Allan Graf. Born in Los Angeles and raised in New York, Cromwell began his acting career on television in 1974, but had some difficulty breaking into feature films because of his height. At a staggering 6'7", many filmmakers were afraid to give him any roles as he would tower over their stars. This, however, would hardly be a sign of things to come. Other works One of his earliest films was 1978's ''The Cheap Detective'', in which he co-starred with other future Trek alumni such as Louise Fletcher (Winn Adami), David Ogden Stiers (Timicin), and Jonathan Banks (Shel-la). Cromwell followed this with roles in such films as 1983's ''The Man with Two Brains'', with David Warner and Jeffrey Combs, and 1984's Oh, God! You Devil, with future Star Trek: Voyager star Robert Picardo. The following year, Cromwell appeared in the film ''Explorers'', which also featured Picardo as well as Dick Miller. And in 1988, Cromwell would make an appearance in the pilot episode of TV's China Beach, starring not only Robert Picardo but Trek alumni Megan Gallagher, Jeff Kober, and Concetta Tomei as well. Cromwell has also become widely recognized for playing Mr. Skolnick, the father of the main character, in the 1984 comedy Revenge of the Nerds. This film also starred fellow Star Trek actors Bernie Casey and Brian Tochi. Cromwell would reprise the role of Skolnick in three sequels: 1987's Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (with Ed Lauter, Tom Hodges, and Raymond Forchion); 1992's Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation (with Casey, Tochi, Clancy Brown, and Viola Kates Stimpson); and Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (with Casey, Tochi, and Robert Picardo). Cromwell has been particularly busy following his Oscar-nominated role for Babe, starring in such big, popular Hollywood films as Deep Impact (1998, with Denise Crosby, Tucker Smallwood, Kurtwood Smith, and Concetta Tomei), The General's Daughter (1999, with Clarence Williams III), the highly-praised 1999 drama The Green Mile (with William Sadler and Paula Malcomson), and the 2004 sci-fi/action epic I, Robot. However, Cromwell has also found time to participate in smaller films as well, such as 1997's Owd Bob, in which he co-starred with Colm Meaney (Miles O'Brien on TNG and DS9). He has also worked on the occasional "art house" film: in 2006, he played Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the acclaimed biographical drama The Queen. As extensive as his film credits are, his television credits are even more so. In 1976, Cromwell co-starred with fellow Star Trek actors George Murdock, Andrew Robinson, William Windom, and Anthony Zerbe on the mini-series Once an Eagle. Ten years later, Cromwell was among the cast of the mini-series Dream West. Also starring in this project were Cromwell's Star Trek: First Contact co-stars Jonathan Frakes and Alice Krige, as well as F. Murray Abraham, Michael Ensign, the aforementioned Matt McCoy, Noble Willingham, and Anthony Zerbe. In 1990, Cromwell once again starred with Matt McCoy in the TV movie Miracle Landing, which also featured Armin Shimerman (Quark, etc.) and Herta Ware (Yvette Picard). More recent TV projects include the 2000 TV movie Fail Safe (with Bill Smitrovich) and 2002's RKO 281, a TV movie written by Star Trek Nemesis scribe John Logan which garnered Cromwell an Emmy nomination. In 2003, Cromwell had a role in the highly acclaimed, multiple Emmy Award-winning mini-series Angels in America. That same year, he had guest-starring roles on the HBO series Six Feet Under, which led to his earning another Emmy nomination and becoming a regular cast member on the series from 2004 until its cancellation in 2005. Cromwell also received an Emmy nomination for a guest appearance on the TV series ER. Upcoming & current projects Cromwell is currently appearing in the sixth season of the FOX series 24. He will play Philip Bauer, the father of main character Jack Bauer. Alexander Siddig is also a current member of the show's guest cast; other actors to appear in Cromwell's episodes are Michael Reilly Burke, Gregory Itzin, Natalia Nogulich and Maury Sterling. Cromwell will also appear in the upcoming blockbuster Spider-Man 3, opposite Kirsten Dunst and Tim De Zarn. This film is set for release in Summer 2007. Another film he will be seen in is Becoming Jane, a biography of novelist Jane Austen, also set for release in 2007. Personal life Cromwell was married to actress Julie Cobb, who played Yeoman Leslie Thompson in the TOS episode "By Any Other Name". Cromwell's step-daughter, Rosemary Morgan, is also a Trek alumna, having played Piri in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "The Chute". Appearances as Zefram Cochrane *''Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996) *ENT: **"Broken Bow" (uncredited) **"Regeneration" (still image from Star Trek: First Contact; uncredited) **"In a Mirror, Darkly" (archive footage from Star Trek: First Contact used to represent Cochrane's mirror universe counterpart; uncredited) Other Trek connections Addtional projects in which Cromwell appeared with other Star Trek performers include: * The Nancy Walker Show (1976 TV series, with William Schallert) * The Last Precinct (1986 TV series, with Vijay Amritraj) * A Fine Mess (1988 feature film, with Paul Sorvino, Keye Luke, and Darryl Henriques) * The Rescue (1988 feature film, with Leon Russom) * Pink Cadillac (1989 feature film, with Jimmie F. Skaggs, John Fleck, Michael Champion, and Timothy Carhart) * Christine Cromwell: Things That Go Bump in the Night (1989 TV movie, with John de Lancie) * The Babe (1992 feature film, with Danny Goldring) * Romeo Is Bleeding (1993 feature film, with Ron Perlman) * The Shaggy Dog (1994 TV movie, with Ed Begley, Jr.) * Eraser (1996 feature film, with Patrick Kilpatrick), * The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996 feature film, with Vincent Schiavelli) * Snow Falling on Cedars (1999 feature film, with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) * Space Cowboys (2000 feature film, with Barbara Babcock) * The Sum of All Fears (2002 feature film, with Bruce McGill) * The Longest Yard (2005 feature film, with Ed Lauter) External Links * * Cromwell, James Cromwell, James Cromwell, James Cromwell, James Cromwell, James de:James Cromwell es:James Cromwell